Little headway on EV rollout deadline as govt, auto makers stick to guns

Industry says deadline could impact a sector already facing a slowdown and dealing with BS-VI compliance; govt warns of court action

Late last month, a meeting between established auto makers and newer players in the electric vehicle segment continued well past the fixed time.

Participants said that the closed-door meeting, called to find a way out to meet the 2022 deadline for conversion of three-wheelers into electric vehicles and the 2025 deadline for two-wheelers was stormy, to put it mildly.

Even after the discussions got over, a top official from NITI Aayog who had been putting forward the government line on the subject was closeted with a senior auto industry player for almost 40 minutes just to drive home his point.